As far as numbers go it's obviously not a big one, but when the Texas Longhorns take the field in 2008 they'll be looking to replace three senior wide receivers that have dominated the touches and touchdowns in the passing game for the last couple of years.

With so much uncertainty at that position, you'd be hard-pressed to find a young man in the current Longhorns recruiting class that is more important and valuable than Klein Oak wide receiver DeSean Hales.

In addition to being the top-rated receiver among those committed to the Longhorns, Hales has the type of speed and big-play ability that the Longhorn offense desperately needs. So, when Hales visited Austin this weekend for his official visit, the No.1 goal for the UT coaching staff was to make sure that Hales left town as happy about his decision to commit to the Longhorns than he was before he arrived.

Mission accomplished.

"I had a lot of fun," Hales said on Sunday afternoon. "They had a lot of stuff for us to do with the banquet and the tours of the campus and stuff. Really, I just hung out with the players a lot and I got to know the coaches a lot better. I got to see how things are going to be"

According to Hales, the family environment that he experienced was perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the trip.

"I met a lot of players this weekend," Hales said. "I was surprised that even though I had just met them, it felt like we had known each other for a long time. They made me feel like I was at home."

Hales added that junior wide receiver Quan Cosby was assigned by the coaching staff to host him over the weekend, but the truth of the matter is that is was a joint effort.

"I hung out with Malcolm Williams a lot on Saturday night," Hales said. "There were a lot of players and recruits around all the time. We all hung out together the entire weekend."